mercredi 15 Oct. 2025 - 19h00
On 15 October 2025, Brussels will resonate with the timeless soul of Istanbul and the shared musical heritage of its neighboring cultures.
I am very pleased to invite you to a special edition of Borderless Tunes, presenting:
ISTANBUL – The Music of the City
Atelier Marcel Hastir, Rue du Commerce 51, 1000 Brussels
Welcome drink: 19:00
Concert: 20:00
https://ateliermarcelhastir.eu/agenda/2025-10-15-istanbul-the-music-of-the-city/
This evening will be an immersive journey through the traditions of Istanbul – where East and West meet – performed by three outstanding musicians from Turkey and Greece. Their repertoire will revive the enchanting songs that once filled the city’s coffeehouses, taverns, gardens, theatres, and moonlit Bosphorus nights.
Artists
Çağlar Fidan – Vocal, Qanun (Turkey)
Graduate of the Turkish Music State Conservatory, vocalist at TRT Istanbul Radio. His projects (Intra Muros Istanbul, The Music of the Istanbul Encyclopedia) explore the social and musical topography of Ottoman Istanbul.
Erhan Bayram – Istanbul Kemenche (Turkey)
Lecturer at Sakarya University, president of the Tanburi Cemil Bey Association, and director of the TRT2 series The Music of Istanbul. He has performed widely in Turkey, Europe, and the Arab world.
Nikos Papageorgiou – Tanbur, Lute (Greece/Turkey)
Trained under Evgenios Voulgaris and Murat Aydemir, he has been based in Istanbul since 2018, performing in intercultural projects on Turkish and Greek musical heritage.
Special Guest Artist
Djamilya Babaeva – Soprano (Azerbaijan)
Graduate with highest distinction from the National Conservatory of Azerbaijan, she studied with masters such as Irina Arkhipova, Walter Berry, Tom Krause, and Sir Donald McIntyre. She has performed across Europe, the Caucasus, and Turkey, interpreting works by Mozart, Verdi, Tchaikovsky, Bizet, Rimsky-Korsakov and more.
Her awards include:
- Finalist Award – International Competition of Singing of Asia
- Special Award – Rimsky-Korsakov International Competition (St. Petersburg)
- Special Award – Bul-Bul International Singing Competition (Baku)
- Third Prize Finalist – International Singing Competition of Verviers (Belgium)
Program
Opera excerpts, classical compositions, and arrangements of Azerbaijani and Turkish folk melodies – a prestigious showcase of shared roots and cultural dialogue.
Tickets & Reservations
- Standard Ticket – €25
- Pay What You Can
- (Join even if your budget is limited, or support with a higher contribution – you decide the amount.)
Reservations & info: +32 471 75 01 49
This is a personal invitation. Seats are limited, so please confirm your participation (first come, first served).
We would be honored to welcome you for this exceptional evening of music, memory, and friendship.
Kenan ERER
Journalist-Producer
Fabrique A ASBL : REG 587592697921-49
+32471750149
Çağlar Fidan
Primarily interested in the music of late Ottoman and early Republican Istanbul, Caglar
Fidan draws inspiration from the city’s spaces and character portraits in his work.
Born in 1994, Caglar Fidan graduated from the Istanbul Technical University Turkish Music
State Conservatory, Department of Vocal Training. In 2016, he joined the Istanbul Radio of
TRT (Turkish Radio and Television Corporation) as a vocalist. He completed his thesis titled
The Music and Social Topography of Coffeehouses in Ottoman Istanbul with Professor
Namık Sinan Turan as his thesis advisor in the Istanbul Research Studies graduate program
at Istanbul University.
In 2022, he released a four-track EP titled I (One) on digital platforms. That same year, he
performed as the project creator and vocalist in the concert Istanbul: The Music of the City,
held at the Şerefiye Cistern as part of the 50th Istanbul Music Festival by IKSV (Istanbul
Foundation for Culture and Arts). In the 2023-2024 season, he curated and performed a
concert series titled The Music of the Istanbul Encyclopedia, based on the musical content of
historian Reşat Ekrem Koçu’s iconic Istanbul Encyclopedia. These concerts were staged at
venues such as SALT Galata, Akbank Sanat, Metrohan, and Kumbaracı50 Theatre.
In the fall of 2024, he released his first music album, Intra Muros Istanbul, presenting
Ottoman-era music from intramural Istanbul, the area defined by the walls built during the
reign of Eastern Roman Emperor Theodosius II. Each track in the album references
characters and locations from intramural Istanbul.
Currently, he is the curator and performer of the concert project Island, presented as part
of the 53rd Istanbul Music Festival organized by IKSV. The Island concert, which will take
place on June 25, 2025, at the Hristos Greek Orthodox Monastery on Kınalıada, highlights
the shared cultural heritage of the Turkish and Greek peoples through some of the most
beautiful songs from Crete, Kastellorizo (Megisti), Lesbos, Imbros, and Istanbul’s Princes’
Islands.
Erhan Bayram
Erhan Bayram was born in 1986 in Ankara. He completed his undergraduate studies in
Instrument Performance at the Istanbul Technical University Turkish Music State
Conservatory. In 2008, he studied music in Greece through the Erasmus exchange
program.
He pursued a master’s degree in Musicology and Music Theory at the same university,
where he is currently continuing his doctoral studies. His academic work focuses on
comparative organological research between Turkish and Greek musical traditions.
Since 2012, he has been a lecturer at Sakarya University State Conservatory, where he
teaches undergraduate courses in Musicology and Instrument Performance, works closely
with students, and continues his research.
In 2022, he served as the music director of the 13-episode television program “Istanbul’un
Müziği” (The Music of Istanbul), broadcast on TRT 2. The program explored the rich musical
heritage of Istanbul.
Since 2010, he has performed concerts in Turkey, across Europe, and in several Arab
countries. He specializes in the Istanbul kemenche and Turkish classical music.
In 2015, he co-founded the Tanburi Cemil Bey Association and has served as its president
ever since. The association is dedicated to preserving and promoting the musical legacy of
Tanburi Cemil Bey.
In addition to Turkish, Erhan Bayram speaks advanced English and beginner-level Greek.
Nikos Papageorgiou
Nikos Papageorgiou was born in 1996. From a young age, he began studying the lavta
and music under Evgenios Voulgaris, while also delving into Church music with his father,
Georgios Papageorgiou. In 2011, through the “Labyrinth Workshop,” he met Murat
Aydemir and began studying the tanbur. During this time, he had the opportunity to learn
from and collaborate with renowned musicians such as Ross Daly, Sokratis Sinopoulos,
Erkan Oğur, Ömer Erdoğdular, Ahmet Erdoğdular, and Derya Türkan.
In 2019, he graduated with a degree in Education from the University of Patras. Since
2018, he has been based in Istanbul, where he has studied with Panagiotis Neochoritis
and Özer Özel. He has taken part in numerous concerts and projects, collaborating with a
wide range of musicians. He currently serves as a chanter at the Greek Orthodox Church
of Panayia Kumariotissa in Yeniköy.
Since 2020, he has been conducting a research project on Zaharya Hanende, through
which he has organized concerts and published related works. In addition, he continues to
perform with Fotini Kokkala in their duet project “NikoTeini,” with two album releases
planned for this year.
As of 2024, he is pursuing a master’s degree in Turkish Art History at Istanbul University.
Alongside his academic work, he remains active in the music scene through various
collaborations and artistic projects.
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